The kidneys function in your body by removing waste and excess water from your blood. Medical professionals calculate the glomerular filtration rate, or GFR, to measure the rate at which your kidneys filter blood waste. If you have a low GFR, you...
When going to the doctor, you may go through a battery of exams to assess your overall health. Kidney tests, especially for individuals with diabetes or hypertension, are important for assessing the health of your kidneys. The National Kidney...
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases reports that an estimated 23 million American adults have chronic kidney disease, also known as chronic kidney failure. The definition of chronic kidney disease is evidence of a...
According to the National Kidney Foundation, chronic renal or lidney disease, or CKD, is a progressive disease that causes damage to the kidneys over time. CKD consists of five progressive stages that are determined by glomerular filtration fate...
According to the National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse, every day the kidneys process about 200 quarts of blood to filter out two quarts of waste products and extra water from the body. Renal failure, kidney disease and...
The purpose of the kidneys is to filter out and process waste from the blood. The National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse states that the kidneys process 200 qt. of blood every day and sift out about 2 qt. of waste...
Renal insufficiency occurs when the kidneys are not able to function properly, and can no longer adequately filter waste from the body. Renal insufficiency may be acute (acute renal failure) or chronic (chronic kidney disease). The Medical College...
Your kidneys and liver have similar functions. They filter toxins and waste. The kidneys do this with fluids, while the liver generally takes care of solids. Either organ can experience bacterial or viral infections, invasion of cancer or...
Monitoring your diet is important if you have renal disease. Research published in the "American Journal of Nephrology" showed that people with chronic kidney disease, or CKD, have increased mortality rates. According to the National Kidney...
Renal, or kidney, disease is often a slow and insidious disease process. Most of the time, people with early kidney disease have no symptoms and are unaware that their kidneys are starting to fail. There are five stages of chronic kidney disease,...
If your kidney function is approximately 60 percent, you should ask your nephrologist if you can make any dietary adjustments to help preserve the function you have. His answer will be governed by your laboratory results and blood pressure. There...
Chronic kidney disease can lead to health complications and can be fatal if it progresses to kidney failure. A carefully planned diet provides essential nutrients and reduces the stress on your kidneys, so work with your nutritionist to develop a...
Renal impairment, or chronic kidney disease, can lead to kidney failure and even death, so you need to do everything possible to slow the progression. Your diet can have a significant impact on your health while living with renal impairment, so...
Kidney disease occurs when the kidneys are unable to perform their function of filtering excess fluids and waste from the blood. As the disease progresses, waste builds up in the blood and damages other organs. The National Kidney Foundation...
In the body the kidneys maintain the correct balance of fluid, electrolytes, and waste products. Early symptoms of chronic renal failure are vague because the disease occurs slowly. The National Kidney Foundation reports 26 million American adults...
Kidney failure may be an acute or chronic condition. Acute renal failure usually starts after a sudden illness or trauma to the kidney and is self limiting. Chronic renal failure typically occurs slowly over time and is not reversible. The...
According to the National Kidney Foundation more than 26 million Americans -- one in nine adults -- have renal disease. Millions more people are at increased risk for the disease, and most don't know it. If the disease is found and treated early,...
Taken together, high levels of serum potassium, serum creatinine and urine protein, also called microalbumin, are consistent with advanced kidney disease. All these tests are routinely performed on patients with chronic kidney disease. The results...
Creatine is a compound naturally created by our body to produce the energy needed for muscle contraction. When your muscles break down creatine, a waste product called creatinine is formed. Your kidneys excrete almost all the creatinine in your...
The kidneys' main function is to clear the blood of wastes and remove excess fluid. Some tests that measure abnormal kidney function include blood pressure, urine albumin, creatinine, glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN)....
Renal disease affects 26 million people in the United States and another 20 million people are at risk for developing it, according to the National Kidney Foundation. To deal with the crisis, the National Kidney Foundation redefined renal disease...
According to Medline Plus, the kidneys, or renal system, help control water levels and eliminate wastes through urine. They also help regulate blood pressure, red blood cell production and the levels of calcium and minerals. The United States...
A proper working kidney has a lot of important functions in the body. The main function of a kidney is to act like a filter for blood. Proper working kidneys also control blood pressure, red blood cell production and calcium balance. Damaged...
Phosphorus is so common that deficiencies are almost unknown. More problematic for kidney patients are abnormally high serum levels of phosphorus, also called hyperphosphatemia. If you have high phosphorus levels, your nephrologist may recommend a...
Creatinine is a waste product of muscular activity this is secreted into the blood stream. Because people's activity levels tend not to vary, serum creatinine levels remain constant in healthy people. Doctors monitor creatinine levels through...
Healthy kidneys keep serum potassium levels within a very narrow range regardless of how many high-potassium foods you eat. Kidneys of people with advanced kidney disease are less able to perform this function, so potassium levels often begin to...
Damaged kidneys and kidneys with reduced function cause renal disease. Renal disease is also called chronic kidney disease, or CKD. In 2002, the National Kidney Foundation classified renal disease into 5 stages. Treatment of renal disease depends...
The National Kidney Foundation has established guidelines to group chronic renal failure into stages based on the severity of the disease. According to this system, there are five stages of chronic renal disease, numbered 1 through 5; the higher...
Both the renal and kidney diets are variations on a low-potassium, low-protein diet designed to limit complications in individuals suffering from chronic kidney disease. Since the term renal refers to the kidneys, the names are sometimes used...
